Skip to main content
Log in

Abstract

In studies of a healthy (A) and a nervous (E) genetic strain of pointer dogs, two techniques were utilized to determine environmental and hereditary influences. These were (1) reciprocal crossbreeding to females from each strain, and (2) split litters with special handling and human attention to one-half of each litter of nervous strain origin from birth through age six months.

It is not possible to attribute the nervous behavior to an environmental mother effect since crossbred AE and EA offspring were highly similar on behavior tests of brief exploratory activity, rigid posturing to a loud noise and human avoidance behavior. Furthermore, special handling had almost no success in normalizing the responses of the nervous dogs in the behavior tests or in heart rate response to Effect-of-Person procedures. The results show that the biologic origin of the dogs is the most likely source of the nervousness; this has placed severe limits thus far on attempts to attenuate the condition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Blauvelt, H.: Neonate-mother relationship in goat and man. In:Group Processes, Transactions of the Second Conference. New York, Macy Foundation, 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dykman, R. A., Murphree, O. D., and Peters, J. E.: Like begets like: Behavioral tests, classical autonomic and motor conditioning, and operant conditioning in two strains of pointer dogs.Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 159: 976–1007, 1969.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, H. F.: The nature of love.Amer. Psychologist 13: 673–685, 1958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphree, O. D., Peters, J. E., and Dykman, R. A.: Effect of person on nervous, stable and crossbred pointer dogs.Cond. Reflex 2: 273–276, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton, J. E. O., Murphree, O. D., and Dykman, R. A.: Sporadic transient atrioventricular block and slow heart rate in nervous pointer dogs, a genetic study.Cond. Reflex 5: 75–89, 1970.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, J. E., Murphree, O. D., and Dykman, R.A.: Genetically-determined abnormal behavior in dogs: Some implications for psychiatry.Cond. Reflex 2: 206–215, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. P., and Fuller, J.L.: Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitz, R.: Hospitalism—an inquiry into genesis of psychiatric conditions in early childhood.The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 1: 53, 1945; 2:113, 1946; 2:313, 1946.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Murphree, O.D., Newton, J.E.O. Crossbreeding and special handling of genetically nervous dogs. Conditional Reflex 6, 129–136 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03000378

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03000378

Keywords

Navigation